Feedback linked to leadership skill

The word “politics” conjures up a negative image in the minds of most people, however, good governance and politics are very important in the functioning of a country.

Similarly, the word “feedback” mostly conjures a negative feeling or an apprehension in the mind of a receiver, said Mr Vikram Bector, Chief Learning Officer, Deloitte.

Delivering the BL Club lecture, sponsored by Tata Photon Plus at Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar, Mr Bector said: “Feedback is an essential part of leadership skill for all leaders to master. Often we do not express ourselves the way we actually intend to because of a certain lack of mastery in this skill. A leader needs to give positive and developmental feedback to many stakeholders all the time. These constituents could be employees, bosses, customers, vendors, media, and the community at large. If delivered effectively feedback can enhance relationships and add to one's success.”

The feedback process starts from childhood, he said. Parents give us feedback as to what is good or bad and what to do and what not to do.

Mr Bector shared with the audience the EARN model of sharing positive and developmental feedback, where E stands for Event, A for Action, R for Result and N for Next Steps.

Communication can be Non-Verbal, Visual, Oral and Written. The visual communication is very crucial and the person who is carrying the message is equally important. An audience responds to the message and to the messenger. The way one dresses and speaks does matter a lot. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Mr Bector while talking about visual communication and he encouraged the students to leverage pictures and stories to enhance their communication skills.

Mr Bector said the importance of visual communication and how it can help create and build brand “You”. He also stressed the importance of public speaking and advised the students to practice a lot.

He suggested the use of adjectives and listing the positives in the student's C.V. He cautioned that the positives should be genuine. If there are any negative factors, they can be always shared in the interview if asked. While discussing about various aspects of written communication he advised students to use verbs like “cultivated”, “budgeted”, “adopted”, “evaluated”, “negotiated”, etc, in their C.V.

Earlier Dr S.V. Ramana, Head of the Department, M.B.A welcomed the gathering and explained various activities taken by their department for the benefit of students.

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